Calcutta, Oct. 30: The principal of a North 24-Parganas school allegedly slapped a Class VIII student and detained him and 13 of his classmates beyond school hours for playing soccer with a water bottle during lunch break yesterday.

The parents of Rohan Roy, a student of Julien Day School, Ganganagar, have lodged a police complaint against principal N. McNamara, saying their child has suffered injuries to his eye and ear because of the slap.

Rohans father Tapas Roy, a police officer posted at Bhabani Bhavan, said: My son told us that his eyes were aching after he returned home from school yesterday. We had to take him to an eye specialist.

School sources said the 14 students had been detained for half an hour after the classes got over at 4pm. The school authorities then called up the parents of the students and asked them to take their children back home.

However, Rohans mother Rupa said it was not possible for her to come from the Roys Birati home to pick up her son, the sources said. Rupa called up her husband who phoned the school and told the authorities that he would not be able to take Rohan home, either. Some school staff then escorted Rohan home.

McNamara denied having slapped any student. The students were playing with a bottle filled with water. It was dangerous and so I told them to stop. I did not slap anybody. I only grabbed one of them by the collar, he said.